The Bio-Teleological Argument: A Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Commentary on Surah Al-Qiyamah (75:36-40)

Presented by Zia H Shah MD

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Abstract

This research report presents an exhaustive multidisciplinary analysis of the final five verses of Surah Al-Qiyamah (75:36-40), synthesizing classical Islamic exegesis with contemporary biological insights, specifically the “miracle of the placenta.” The report explores the Quranic rejection of suda—the notion that human existence is purposeless or neglected—through the lens of embryonic development and the complex, transient life-support systems of the womb. Central to this analysis is the work of Dr. Zia H. Shah, who identifies the placenta as a “masterpiece of bioengineering” and a “gatekeeper” that facilitates an “immune truce” between mother and fetus. By examining the “molecular domestication” of ancient retroviruses used in placental formation, the report argues that such “guided evolution” serves as a definitive empirical proof for a “second creation” or Afterlife. The report further contends that the meticulous design of the human “first creation” necessitates a system of accountability, as the transition from the intrauterine environment to the extrauterine world provides a biological template for the soul’s transition from the material world to the metaphysical realm.

The Existential Challenge: The Rejection of Suda

The closing sequence of Surah Al-Qiyamah initiates a profound inquiry into the nature of human destiny and the intent of the Creator. Verse 36 poses the rhetorical question: “Does man think that he will be left suda?”. This single interrogative serves as the pivot for the entire discourse on resurrection and accountability. To understand the weight of this question, one must delve into the linguistic roots of the term suda. In classical Arabic usage, suda refers to a camel that is left to wander aimlessly, grazing at will without a master to look after it or a purpose for its existence. By applying this metaphor to humanity, the Quran challenges the materialist assumption that human life is a random biological event concluding in permanent annihilation.   

The philosophical implication of being left suda is the absence of responsibility and the lack of a final accounting. Dr. Zia H. Shah notes that these verses challenge the idea that human existence is without accountability or a final goal. If man were truly left suda, his moral choices, his sense of justice, and his intellectual capacity would be evolutionary accidents devoid of ultimate meaning. However, the Quran rejects this nihilism by immediately directing the reader’s attention to the biological processes that brought them into being. The transition from verse 36 to verse 37 signals that the proof of purpose lies in the mechanism of creation itself.   

The thematic structure of Surah Al-Qiyamah is designed to dismantle the skepticism of the “open disputant” who questions the possibility of reassembling decayed bones. The surah begins with an oath by the Day of Resurrection and the “self-reproaching soul” (an-nafs al-lawwamah), the internal conscience that serves as a precursor to the great judgment. Verse 36 returns to this theme, suggesting that the same Creator who implanted a moral compass within the human heart has also provided external “signs” within the human body to prove that life is not a trivial detail.   

Term	Linguistic Context	Theological Implication
Suda	A camel wandering without a master	Rejection of purposelessness and irresponsibility.
Ayah	Sign or miracle	Biological phenomena as evidence of divine intent.
Qiyamah	Resurrection / Standing	The inevitability of the final accounting.
Lawwamah	Self-reproaching	The internal witness to human accountability.

The argument presented is one of logical necessity. If the biological development of a human being is characterized by “meticulous design” and “automated checks and balances,” it follows that the life resulting from such a process must be subject to a higher purpose. The Quranic narrative suggests that the God who does not leave a fetus suda in the darkness of the womb—providing it with a sophisticated, transient life-support system—will certainly not leave the conscious, moral agent suda in the vastness of the cosmos.   

The Biological Signpost: From Sperm-Drop to Clinging Form

Following the challenge of verse 36, the Quran invites reflection on human origins: “Was he not a mere sperm-drop (nutfah), which is emitted?” (75:37). This appeal to the “lowly biological origin” of the human being is intended to inspire humility and to establish a baseline for divine power. The journey from a single microscopic cell to a “perfect creation with healthy limbs” is presented as a “manifestation of the power and wisdom of Allah” that cannot be refuted by the intellect.   

The Miracle of the Nutfah

The term nutfah describes a “weak drop” or “despised fluid,” yet modern science reveals that this drop contains the entire genetic blueprint for a human being. Dr. Zia H. Shah emphasizes that “the God who guides a lifeless drop into a complex, thinking human surely has the power to re-create that human after death”. The transition from the nutfah to the next stage, the ‘alaqah, marks the beginning of the most complex biological engineering project known to science: the development of the placenta.   

Defining the ‘Alaqah as the Clinging Form

Verse 38 continues the sequence: “Then he became a blood-clot (‘alaqah), then Allah formed him and fashioned his limbs in proportion”. While traditional translations often use “blood-clot,” modern scholars and physicians like Dr. Shah point out that the Arabic root ‘alaqah signifies something that “clings,” “hangs,” or is “leech-like”. This is an extraordinarily accurate description of the embryo at the stage of implantation. As Dr. Shah explains, “the term ʿalaqah very aptly describes the implanted embryo – essentially the developing placenta and embryo clinging within the ‘safe place’ of the womb”.   

The placenta is not merely a passive attachment; it is the first organ to develop, and its formation is a prerequisite for the growth of the embryo itself. Recent breakthroughs in gene editing and stem cell research have uncovered that as early as 6 to 12 days after conception, a “temporary organ” begins to form as the embryo implants itself in the uterine lining. This organ, the placenta, is what allows the “clinging form” to survive and thrive. The Quranic use of ‘alaqah thus directs the mind toward the “marvel of the placenta,” an organ that attaches the embryo to the mother and facilitates a complex exchange that no human technology can yet replicate.   

Embryonic Stage	Quranic Term	Biological Correspondence	Scientific Insight
Sperm-drop	Nutfah	Fertilized Zygote	High information density and genetic blueprint.
Clinging Form	‘Alaqah	Implanted Embryo/Placenta	Leech-like attachment to the uterine wall.
Fleshy Lump	Mudghah	Somite Stage	Differentiated vs. undifferentiated tissues.
Proportioning	Taswiya	Organogenesis	Fashioning of limbs and internal systems.

The Placenta: A Transient Masterpiece of Bioengineering

The core of Dr. Zia H. Shah’s argument for the Afterlife rests on the “extraordinary ingenuity” of the placenta. Often dismissed as “afterbirth” or clinical waste, the placenta is, in reality, a “super-organ” that performs the functions of almost every major system in the human body during its transient existence. Dr. Shah describes it as an “alien meat cake” and a “masterpiece of bioengineering”.   

Multitasking and Life Support

During the nine months of gestation, the placenta acts simultaneously as the baby’s lungs, digestive system, kidneys, liver, and endocrine glands. It is the “lifeline between mother and offspring,” carrying out functions so critical and complex that humans have not been able to artificially replicate it.   

The placenta must extract oxygen and nutrients (such as glucose and amino acids) from the mother’s blood and deliver them to the fetus, while ferrying carbon dioxide and waste products (such as urea and bilirubin) back to the mother for disposal. This exchange occurs across a “thin interhaemal membrane” that separates the maternal and fetal circulations, ensuring they never mix—a separation that is vital for survival.   

The Endocrine and Immune Gatekeeper

Beyond simple exchange, the placenta operates as a sophisticated endocrine organ, secreting hormones like human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), estrogens, and progesterone. These hormones orchestrate changes in the mother’s body to optimize conditions for the fetus, ensuring that the “safe place” remains supportive of life.   

One of the most profound “miracles” discussed by Dr. Shah is the “immune truce” orchestrated by the placenta. Because the fetus carries half of the father’s genes, it is “genetically unique and distinctly different from the mother”. Ordinarily, the mother’s immune system would recognize the fetus as “foreign tissue” or a “foreign graft” and attack it. However, the placenta serves as an “incredible gatekeeper,” creating an “immune-privileged site” that modulates the mother’s immune system to tolerate the semi-foreign child for nine months.   

Dr. Shah notes that “if the mother’s and baby’s blood ever directly mixed, the maternal immune system would treat the fetus as foreign tissue and destroy it within days”. The placental interface, specifically the outer layer called the syncytiotrophoblast, acts as a seamless wall that facilitates exchange while shielding the fetus from immune attack. This “marvel of the placenta” serves as a biological metaphor for divine protection and mercy.   

Viral Architects: The Guided Evolution of the Placenta

The scientific mystery of how such a complex, transient organ evolved provides Dr. Zia H. Shah with one of his most compelling arguments for “guided evolution.” The development of the placenta hinges on an “unexpected source: ancient retroviruses”.   

Molecular Domestication of Syncytin

The formation of the syncytiotrophoblast—the critical fused cell layer of the placenta—is made possible by a protein called syncytin. Intriguingly, the genes for syncytin are not mammalian in origin; they are “molecularly domesticated” remnants of ancient Endogenous Retroviruses (ERVs). Retroviruses typically use these envelope (env) genes to fuse their own membrane with a host cell membrane to infect it. Millions of years ago, early mammals “repurposed viral invaders into essential tools for reproduction”.   

Dr. Shah explains that this “molecular domestication” allowed mammals to create a seamless barrier that both facilitated efficient nutrient exchange and “prevented maternal immune cells from attacking the fetus”. He describes this as “God using a virus to get us a placenta,” turning a potential threat into a “cornerstone of reproductive success”.   

The Argument Against Randomness

From a philosophical perspective, the odds of a “lucky accident” solving the simultaneous immune and structural challenges of internal pregnancy are “astronomical”. Dr. Shah argues that this process was “guided,” affirmation of a “Creator’s hand in evolution”. He posits that “the laws of biology are [but] God’s habits,” and what we label as “random” in evolution is only random from our limited, finite perspective, not from the perspective of the “One Master” who directs these processes.   

Biological Feature	Evolutionary Mechanism	Theological Significance
Syncytiotrophoblast	Fusion of cells via syncytin	Creation of a “safe place” for the embryo.
Syncytin Genes	Retroviral “domestication”	Evidence of “guided evolution” and “molecular recycling”.
Immune Privilege	Modulation of maternal response	Divine mercy as a shielding force (Rahmah).
Endocrine Control	Hormonal metabolic adjustment	Meticulous design and “automated checks”.

This “amazing creativity” of the placenta’s viral origin suggests that the “first creation” is not a trivial event but a deliberate, phased process. If the initiation of human life involves such sophisticated biological maneuvering, the Quranic conclusion is that the One who managed this “first creation” is certainly “Able to give life to the dead” (75:40).   

The Logical Culmination: The Proof for the Afterlife

Surah Al-Qiyamah concludes with a question that serves as the “logical culmination of the entire discourse” on resurrection: “Has He not then the power to give life to the dead?” (75:40). This is not merely a statement of faith but a rational deduction based on the evidence provided in the preceding verses.   

The Logic of the First Creation

The Quranic argument for the Afterlife is rooted in the “logic of the first creation.” As classical commentators like Maududi and modern scholars like Shah point out, the act of bringing a human into existence from a “sperm-drop” and a “clinging form” is a manifestation of power and wisdom that cannot be refuted. If the Creator has the ingenuity to design a “multitasking super-organ” like the placenta to support life in the darkness of the womb, then the “repetition of the creation” is well within His capability.   

Dr. Shah emphasizes that “the God who initiates life can restore it”. The meticulous design of the ‘alaqah stage serves as a “reminder that the power required to shape a perfect human… is the same power that can resurrect bodies after death”. The argument is that the “first creation” is the empirical precedent that makes the “second creation” a rational certainty.   

Transience as a Template for the Hereafter

A key insight from the research is the “transient” nature of the placenta. It is an organ that is “essential, yet discarded”. It exists for only nine months, and “once the baby is born, the placenta’s work is done, and it is discarded”. This transience provides a profound philosophical parallel for human life on Earth.   

Just as the fetus is totally reliant on a temporary, transient organ (the placenta) to prepare it for a world it cannot yet perceive, the human being is reliant on their temporary, transient life on Earth to prepare for the Afterlife. Dr. Shah and other thinkers suggest that the transition from the intrauterine world to the extrauterine world is a biological “proof-of-concept” for the transition from the material world to the metaphysical one. The “work of the placenta” is to build a human capable of surviving outside the womb; the “work of life” is to build a soul capable of surviving outside the physical body.

Realm of Existence	Duration	Life-Support System	End Goal
The Womb	9 Months	The Placenta (Transient)	Birth into the physical world.
The World	~70-80 Years	The Physical Body (Transient)	Resurrection into the eternal world.
The Hereafter	Eternal	The Spiritual Presence	Final Accountability and Reward.

This “simultaneity of opposites”—connection and separation, transience and permanence—is embedded in the human experience from the very beginning. The “navel” or belly button remains as a permanent physical marker of our connection to our origins and our “inevitable separation” from the transient support system of the womb.   

Human Accountability and the Self-Reproaching Soul

The rejection of suda (purposelessness) in verse 36 is inextricably linked to the concept of human accountability. The complexity of the placenta and the precision of embryonic “fashioning” (taswiya) argue against the idea that man is an animal left to “wander at will”.   

Intellect, Choice, and Moral Agency

Maududi and Dr. Shah both point out the “manifest difference between yourself and the animal”. While an animal fulfills its instincts and “does nothing that could be called good or bad,” the human being is “blessed with the power of choice and authority”. The existence of “moral acts” and an “intellect that judges” necessitate a system of reward and punishment.   

If a man who “struggled throughout his life for the cause of truth and justice” were to “perish like an insect” alongside a man who “sowed corruption and iniquity,” it would be a violation of the “wisdom of Allah”. The Quran argues that a Being who goes to such biological lengths to protect and nurture a fetus in the womb would not be so “neglectful” as to allow the moral order of the universe to end in chaos. Accountability is the moral necessary consequence of biological design.   

The Internal Witness: An-Nafs Al-Lawwamah

The “existence of conscience in the heart reflects the inevitable Resurrection”. This internal witness, described at the beginning of Surah Al-Qiyamah as the “self-reproaching soul,” works in tandem with the “external signs” of creation. The soul is “tormented and chastised upon committing evil deeds,” issuing a “verdict as to the severest punishment” even before the Day of Judgment.   

The analysis suggests that the “microcosm” of human existence—with its internal conscience and its miraculous biological formation—is a “trial” that points toward the “macrocosm” of a “great just tribunal”. Every child “gestating in the hidden womb” is a sign of a “divine design” that encompasses both conception and accountability.   

Divine Mercy: The Womb and the Names of God

The theological commentary on these verses is incomplete without addressing the linguistic and spiritual link between the womb (rahim) and the Names of God, Al-Rahman and Al-Rahim (The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful). Both names, and the word for womb, derive from the same Arabic root R-H-M.   

Rahmah and the Placental Lifeline

Dr. Zia H. Shah explores how the maternal womb symbolizes “mercy in both spiritual and biological terms”. Just as a womb “nurtures and safeguards life,” Allah’s mercy “surrounds and protects His creation”. The placenta is the physical manifestation of this rahmah—providing “unearned nourishment” and “unconditional provision” to the fetus, much as the Creator provides for humanity in the world.   

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught that “Allah is more merciful to His servants than this mother is to her child,” pointing to the biological bond as the “nearest earthly mirror of divine compassion”. This mercy continues after birth, as the Creator provides “hearing, vision, and intellect” so that the human may be “grateful” and recognize their accountability.   

The Womb as a “Safe Place”

The Quran repeatedly refers to the womb as a qararin makin (“safe place” or “secure lodging”). Modern science, through the study of the placenta, has “only deepened our awe” for this description. The “immune truce” and the “miles of intertwined capillaries” that bring mother and child into “close proximity without ever mixing” are the biological features of this safety. For Dr. Shah, this is not a trivial detail; it is a “sign of deliberate design by ‘the best of creators’”.   

Proportioned for Purpose: The Fashioning of the Soul

Verse 38 and 39 of Surah Al-Qiyamah mention that Allah “shaped and fashioned [him] in due proportion” and “made of him two sexes, male and female”. This process of taswiya (proportioning) refers to the development of “healthy limbs,” “perfect creation,” and “differentiated tissues”.   

The Biological Miracle of Gender

The “birth of boys and girls has continuously been taking place” with such consistency that it cannot be dismissed as “accident”. The differentiation of gender is a “wise act” that ensures the continuation of the human story and the “womb-mercy” cycle. Dr. Shah interprets this as part of a “developmental process” that modern science has identified across all mammals, anchored in the development of the placenta.   

The “One Master” Paradigm and Modern Science

Dr. Shah’s commentary frequently employs the “One Master” paradigm to resolve conflicts between science and religion. By using case studies like the “Guided Evolution of the placenta via viral architects,” he illustrates how modern biological facts align with the “teleological inference of Cosmic Intelligence”. He marveled as a physician at the “thousands if not millions of automated checks and balances” that keep the body functioning, seeing them as “irreproachable signs of the Creator”.   

The “miracle of mammalian placenta” is thus a “clue for science” provided by the Quran to bridge the gap between “physical creation and spiritual resurrection”. The “meticulous design” of the body is not just for survival; it is a “testament to life’s creativity” and a pointer toward the “certainty of the afterlife in Islamic thought”.   

The Logic of Responsibility: Rebutting Skepticism

The “open disputant” mentioned in parallel verses (36:77) is challenged by their own biological history. “Does man not consider that We created him from a mere drop of sperm, and behold—he is an open adversary?” (36:77). Dr. Shah notes that this verse confronts us with a “dual reality”: our “lowly biological origin” versus our “lofty capacity for argument”.   

Humility vs. Arrogance

The “arrogance of skepticism” is dismantled when one reflects on the “fragile beginnings” of human life. The God who guides a “lifeless drop” through the “clinging form” stage into a “conscious being” is the same God who will reassemble the “decayed bones” of the skeptic. The Quranic message is that “our existence is intentional and guided, not an accident,” and remembering this should “humble us into recognizing God’s power over life and death”.   

The “marvel of the placenta,” largely unknown to the people of the 7th century, is one of the most powerful “signs of divine wisdom” available to the modern mind. It exemplifies the Quranic reminder of our origins and the “absolute sovereignty” of God over the integrated self.   

Skeptic’s Challenge	Quranic Response	Biological Parallel
How can dead bones be revived?	Remember the “First Creation” (Nutfah).	Life emerges from a “despised fluid”.
Is life purposeless (Suda)?	Observe the “Clinging Form” (‘Alaqah).	The placenta is a “multitasking masterpiece”.
Is resurrection possible?	Consider the “Fashioning” (Taswiya).	Complex organs and systems appear from single cells.
Who will return us?	The “One Master” who made gender.	Consistent biological reproduction and gender balance.

Conclusions and Synthesis

The multidisciplinary commentary on Surah Al-Qiyamah (75:36-40) establishes that the biological “miracles of the placenta” are foundational arguments for the Afterlife and human accountability. The research indicates that:

1. The Rejection of Suda is Biologically Supported: The intricate, purposeful design of the placenta and embryonic life-support systems proves that human existence is not “neglected” or “purposeless.” The complexity of these systems necessitates a higher intent.
2. The Placenta is a Sign of Guided Evolution: The “molecular domestication” of ancient retroviral proteins (syncytin) to create the placental barrier is a clear indicator of “Guided Evolution” rather than “blind chance.”
3. Transience Provides a Biological Template: The placenta as a “transient organ” that prepares the fetus for a world after the womb is a biological parallel for the Earth being a transient “womb” that prepares the soul for the Afterlife.
4. Moral Accountability is the Logical End of Design: The “self-reproaching soul” and the “power of choice” distinguish humans from animals, and the meticulous biological “fashioning” of the human body implies that the life resulting from it will be held to a final account.
5. The First Creation Proves the Second: The Quranic logic—affirmed by modern science—is that the One who managed the complex “first creation” from a sperm-drop and a clinging form has the undeniable power to repeat that creation in the Afterlife.

Ultimately, the placenta serves as a “masterpiece of bioengineering” that inspires reflection on the “wisdom inherent in life’s design”. It is a “clue to the guided evolution and afterlife,” reminding humanity that they were created in a “safe place” by a “Merciful Creator” who will certainly bring them back to life for judgment.   

Thematic Epilogue: The Second Womb

The history of every human being begins with a period of absolute dependency in the dark, “clinging” to a transient organ that provided everything while asking for nothing. For nine months, the placenta was our entire world—it was our breath, our food, and our shield against an immune system that would have otherwise destroyed us. When our time in that “safe place” was up, we were born into this wider world, and our “first lifeline” was discarded, having fulfilled its purpose.

Today, we stand in a second womb: the material world. Like the placenta, this world is transient. It provides us with the “oxygen and nutrients” of physical life, but it is not our final destination. The Quranic interrogation, “Does man think that he will be left suda?”, reminds us that just as we did not grow in the first womb by accident, we are not walking this Earth without a master.

The “navel of the world” is a physical mark of our first transition—a reminder that we have already survived one “resurrection” from a world of darkness into a world of light. If the “viral architects” of the placenta could be “molecularly domesticated” to save our physical bodies, how much more certain is the “domestication” of the universe to serve the purpose of our spiritual return?

We are not “wandering camels” in a purposeless desert. We are moral agents, “fashioned and proportioned” with a “self-reproaching soul” that anticipates a final meeting with its Creator. The “miracle of the placenta” is our receipt—a proof that we were meticulously cared for when we were “mere drops of fluid.” That same Mercy (Rahmah) that built our first home in the Rahim is waiting for us on the other side of this life. We were not left neglected then, and we will not be left neglected now. Has He not then the power to give life to the dead? The answer is etched into our very DNA, in the remnants of the viruses that built our lifelines, and in the “clinging form” that once held us fast to the promise of existence.